Ex-Wolves: Pat Bev defends KAT against Draymond Green's criticism

Despite last playing with him almost three years ago, Patrick Beverley decided to stick up for former Timberwolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns after KAT was criticized by the Warriors' Draymond Green on social media this week.
Towns, who is thriving in his first season with the Knicks, was playing in a nationally-televised game against the Nuggets on Wednesday night. For whatever reason, the often-controversial Green chose to chime in on social media with some harsh thoughts on Towns' defensive approach against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
"KAT in a full front on Joker… even if you win the game it don’t matter," Green posted on X/Twitter. "You will never hold the respect from an opponent to win at the highest level… pride must make you sit down and guard, even if you give up 40… Winning is a mindset, and in order to win a championship…You have to win the mental edge… that’s why only a few guys per era win all the championships… They understand that Thing."
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If it seems like that's an extreme conclusion to draw from Towns fronting the best player in the world in the post, that's because it is. Making it even more odd is that Jokic finished that game with 17 points on 15 shots, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 122-112 Denver loss. That's a far cry from his season averages of 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists per game. It seems like KAT executed his job effectively and helped him team win.
Also, Towns has played better defense on Jokic than most players in recent years, including in the Wolves' seven-game playoff victory over the Nuggets last May.
Beverley, who played with Towns in Minnesota in 2021-22, responded on Thursday morning.
"C'mon Dray give that man his flowers," he posted. "KAT was the main reason Minnesota beat the Nuggets last season. I know we competitive as athletes but KAT is a talent and is respected by his peers. Seems like you don’t respect him which is cool but KAT got real game."
cmon Dray give that man his flowers 💐. Kat was the main reason minnesota beat the nuggets last season.
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) January 30, 2025
i know we competitive as athletes but Kat is a talent and is respected by his peers. seems like u don’t respect him which is cool but Kat got real game.
Luv Gang @KarlTowns… https://t.co/kgAP9FKiRQ
Towns, who was traded from the Wolves to the Knicks in late September, is averaging 24.6 points and 13.7 rebounds this season. He was selected as the starting center for the Eastern Conference in this year's All-Star game.
KAT and the Knicks will face Green and the Warriors twice in March.